Teaching Your Child to Resist Peer Pressure*

*This is a collaborative post*

 

Peer pressure will probably affect your child at one point or another, so it’s important as parents to prepare children and teach them how to handle it. You might find as they get older that your child starts asking for certain clothes or toys or asking to do certain things more often. Rather than shutting them down immediately, we should attempt to understand the pressure they might be facing and support them in dealing with it. Read on for some tips from a girls’ preparatory school on how you can teach your child to resist peer pressure. 

Model assertiveness

The best way to teach your child to stand up for themselves is to model assertive behaviour yourself. Make sure they see you saying no firmly and confidently and establishing boundaries. They will get the message that it’s okay to say no to things they don’t want to do and that they always have a choice in the matter. You could even role play situations where your child might be pressured into something they don’t want to do and practise what they can say. This will make them more confident at dealing with such situations when they arise. 

Build confidence

Your child’s level of self-esteem will have an impact on how they deal with peer pressure. Children with high self-confidence are more likely to feel comfortable asserting their needs and boundaries. You can boost your child’s self-esteem by celebrating their achievements and emphasising when they have accomplished something independently. Ensure to praise them when they don’t succumb to peer pressure and highlight how brave they are for being assertive. 

Show respect

Parents who respect their child’s views and opinions teach them that autonomy and choice is important. Make sure you show respect towards your child, even when things are a little heated. You’ll be teaching them that, even during conflict, opposing parties can still show respect towards each other. Seeing this kind of behaviour makes it more likely that your child will feel confident demanding respect from others, particularly when being pressured to do something they don’t want to do. 

Peer pressure is somewhat inevitable as children grow and mature but taking steps to boost your child’s self-esteem and confidence, and showcase assertive behaviour in your parenting style, will stand them in good stead when it comes to establishing boundaries and acting independently. 

 

*Photo source Pexels 

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